Hymn for Her Gig Preview and Interview

It’s hotter than July over at Cornerstoned Productions this month. We’re delighted to announce that we’re teaming up with stateside psychobilly band, Hymn For Her, as they take on the Scottish leg of their European tour.

We’ve shows in both Glasgow and Edinburgh, each one with stylistically distinct supports, both of which are consistent with the wild and wonderful range of influences that make up Hymn for Her. The Glasgow showcase will display the cities’ subtle; soulful dimensions, with support from the supremely talented singer-songwriters: Cara Rose and Riley. Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, support will be provided by the contemporary americana band, Awkward Family Portraits, as well as country-pop band, OceanCode. If you’ve a taste for a bit of southern spice, then be sure to make it either of these shows, as Hymn For Her are a true oddity and are not to missed.

The draw of a band like Hymn For Her comes not only from the music itself, which is incredible, but from the character, or rather, the characters: Lucy and Wayne. The couple’s first album as Hymn For Her, “YEAR of the GOLDEN PIG”, was released ten years ago, and listening back to it now I hear a band in it’s honeymoon stage. It’s a release that is packed to the brim with unfettered emotion and twee romance, it sounds like your first kiss. Every release since has shown the duo becoming more and more confident, accomplished, and unhinged. Their sound has developed over time just as the relationship of a young couple develops, going from shy to comfortable, and that level of comfort has allowed the group to release ambitious record after ambitious record, all of which have in some way reshaped the genre, and reshaped the bands sound.

Their follow up record, “Lucy & Wayne and the Amairican Stream”, is the first instance of this. The record contains some of their sharpest songwriting, and is a departure from the reserved sound they debuted with and takes it into wackier, more sinister places. That intoxicating insecurity is still there, “Now” in particular is a standout track on the record, a ballad which displays the haunting vocal capability of Lucy, and highlights the crippling fear of losing the bet on love, and being left with nothing. Both Wayne and Lucy’s vocals are steeped in reverb, giving the effect that we’re listening into a confessional phone call between the two, this is one of the most pertinent moments on the album.

The groups third release: “Lucy and Wayne’s Smokin Flames” is the point where things start to go insane. The first track, Mojave, is a blistering desert rock banger which evokes the feeling of peyote tunneling through the veins. The song displays the groups progression,with the duos musicianship and sound production coming across spectacularly, the track sets the tone for what was to come from the pair. Listening to it feels like being locked in the trunk of a car, ploughing through the wild west at 300 mph. The album ends on a sombre note, however, with the song “Passion”. Passion is a meditation on just that, Lucy looks to the world around her; her friends; her peers, and sees their passion dissipate. She fears that the same will happen to her, and wonders whether it’s worth seeking out a “sticky situation” and “blowing it all”, so to dispel the mundane day-to-day and reignite that fire, that passion. In the end, she decides to “sleep on it”. After such a rollercoaster of an album, the idea of your sonic kidnappers running out of gas is a melancholy, poignant ending. The record is fantastic, it combines the unhinged insanity of Era Vulgaris and the surrealist emotional capacity of Natural Born Killers, and the product is truly transportative, and is my favourite release by the group so far.

Fortunately, this wasn’t the last we heard from the Lucy and Wayne. In 2016, the duo released their most recent release, “Drive Til U Die”, where they picked up right where they left off. The bands fourth full length LP was equally as insane as its predecessor, the opening track, “Devil’s Train”, is a blues banger which details the absurdity of touring the world as a family band, with Lucy wondering whether “my kid can get into the show tonight”. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Lucy and Wayne’s daughter tours with them too. That’s right, and she’s on their songs. When we asked the band what the dynamic was like, they called it a “non-stop family vacation”. That kid is going to grow up to be the coolest person in the world.